


Alina's Stories

by Sigilmancy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-10-27 22:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20767697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigilmancy/pseuds/Sigilmancy
Summary: Stories about a sergal blood mage





	1. Snowed In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Pet Prompt on Subeta, prompt Snowed In

Snow was always common in Alina's homeland, but it wasn't until she was in her teens that she experienced being snowed in for the first time. A nasty storm had swept in overnight, as the clan's witches had said, and left the village so buried no one could even see outside from the windows. Just the white of snow pressed up against glass, and the howling winds whistling above.

Of course, being stuck at home with her parents was the last thing the teen wanted. She already felt as if they invaded her personal space too much, and being unable to leave the house just made it that much more unbearable. Her mother and father got along fine, sitting in the living room by the fireplace in comfortable silence with one another. Her father was writing, working on a book he'd been trying to find the time to finish for years, and her mother was quietly repairing some of the clothing that really needed it but, again, just hadn't been able to find the time for recently. The storm freed them from their usual responsibilities while it raged on and given them the time to complete such backed up projects.

Alina, on the other hand, had nothing of the sort. She didn't let projects get backed up, and in the ignorance of her youth didn't understand how her parents had let it happen either. She lived in the moment, not worrying about all the things she hadn't yet done and never starting something new until all other things were finished. That left her miserable as she retreated to her room, spending the time sleeping and reading, pacing her room to burn off energy and only coming out when she needed to use the bathroom or eat. It wasn't safe to practice magic in the house, something she knew well, so that went undone save the books about magical theory and other such subjects.

When the snow finally let up and had melted enough to let others in the village begin to dig out their homes and pathways to others Alina was the first one out the door while her parents packed up their projects and followed more slowly. The cold had never felt so good; the snow between her paw pads and the odd sunlight on her fur. At least it was over, for now, and even if the storms would come again Alina was just glad to get some alleviation of her cabin fever as she went to greet others and find her mentor to discuss what she'd read during the course of being stuck inside.


	2. Husky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done for NaNoWriMo 2019

"Alina!" The woman's voice echoed up the stairs, but Alina rolled over and pulled the covers up over her head. It was too early for anyone reasonable to be awake.

"Alina, get up. I need you to go feed the dogs." The door opened, and Alina's mother huffed as she saw the young sergal at least trying to sleep. "Alina. Up, now." She reached out, grabbing the sheets and yanking them off.

"Mom!" Alina squealed, curling up into a tight ball as the cold air of the room assaulted her now that the blanket that had trapped her body heat was gone.

"Don't you mom me young lady. Get up this instant, and go feed the dogs. Your father is not here right now and I need your help." Her mother balled the blankets up in her arms, carrying them out of the room to keep Alina from just pulling them back onto the bed and going back to sleep.

It took a long few moments before Alina sighed and pulled herself up, grumbling about the early morning hour and everything else that she was being forced to do because her father was not present. With some proper clothes on she took the extra precaution of warmer gear and trudged out to the shed to get a bucket of scraps to feed the dogs.

The small pack of huskies served as sled dogs for the villagers. Most were out at any given point in time, helping get people off to hunting grounds or to other villages to trade for any goods they needed, but there was always at least one or two teams that were resting or being reserved for emergencies and someone had to tend to them. Families took turns feeding and caring for them from month to month, and this month it was her family's turn to do so.

"Come on, time for breakfast." Alina called as she hauled the bucket in to the converted barn space where the dogs slept. They could run around and play with each other, go outside to do their business, and stay warm inside when needed...And they all flocked to the food trough as Alina came in, barking and wagging their tails while she dumped the bucket so they could eat. "Ugh, smells awful...." She sighed, knowing the food was just entrails and other parts from things the villagers hunted but had no use for.

Once the dogs were fed Alina left them be, ignoring the few that followed her in hopes of treats or there being extra food in the bucket. They went back inside when it was clear she would pay them no attention beyond showing up to feed them, giving some disappointed yips along the way. Under normal circumstances she would have been a lot friendlier, but being woken up in the pre dawn hours to tend to a chore that was never supposed to be hers in the first place had put Alina in a foul mood and she wanted nothing more than to go back inside, strip down, and go back to bed now that it was done and over with.


	3. Freeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done for NaNoWriMo 2019

Alina was no stranger to the cold; she grew up in the frigid north, often waist deep in snow and ice, herself and her kin stuck in their homes for days on end when things got rough deep into the winter season. Her thick, red fur was meant to keep her warm in the cold on top of that, but only when she was healthy. At that moment she was anything but, having been starved for days and suffering from dehydration as she lay on the freezing, stone floors of the prison.

She wanted to die, she prayed for death. But the prison guards, the tall humanoid creatures with odd faces unlike anything she'd ever seen before, would not let her. There was nothing in the cell with which she could hurt herself bad enough to commit suicide, and the guards kept her nails trimmed so short and blunt she couldn't do anything with them. Her teeth were always an option, but it was as if the creepy creatures could read her mind and knew she couldn't bring herself to do that even in her desperation. They brought a small amount of food and water by daily, enough to keep her alive but not enough to allow her to be healthy or have an hope for recovery.

Her mind turned to thoughts of home, but many of them were gone. The faces and voices of her parents were just so vague and she could not seem to recall any details. Same with her home, the buildings were only colored blobs in the snow. It hurt to forget, but her knowledge was coming in handy as to the why; even if she didn't know what the prison guards were, they were clearly feeding on the memories of herself and the other prisoners in some manner. Either physically or by somehow absorbing the energy of those memories forcing them to become blurry.

It hurt to think, though. Thinking took precious energy she just did not have. Alina shuddered as another chill ran through her, facilitated by the numbness on her side that was pressed against the floor. If the starvation didn't kill her the maybe she'd freeze to death. That would be nice, she thought, to simply close her eyes to sleep and never wake up. Any hope of escape was long beyond her, and she had resigned herself to the fate of dying in the prison one way or another.


	4. The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Pet Prompt on Subeta, prompt The Sun

How long had it been since she'd last seen the sun? Alina couldn't remember, she had no concept of time in her tiny, barely lit cell and had stopped trying to count any sense of it a long time ago. Or maybe it wasn't so long, she really didn't know anymore.

But now as she ran through the hallways, ignoring the shouts and screams of those around her, sunlight streamed through the barred windows and dappled across her crimson fur. Alina felt herself gasping for air as she ran, her body weak and threatening to give out but running on pure adrenaline as she pushed onwards, searching for a way outside.

Just ahead a section of the wall that had been blasted out by someone else's magic offered a glimmer of hope. Bare feet pounded the hard stone floors until she leaped to get over the rubble, landing in the snow outside and stopping for just a moment as the cold, unbridled wind whipped against her and the light blinded her.

"Take this, and don't stop running!" Someone roughly put something in one of her hands as she stood there and then raced past, Alina watching the humanoid figure take off into the snow before looking down. The dagger, roughly made but much better than a standard prison shiv, felt heavy in her hand as she stared at it. The call of blood was strong, her own magic surging and begging to be used before she shook her head and suppressed it.

Quickly Alina strode forward, following the steps of another through the snow to make it easier. She was cold because of the snow, but warm at the same time from the sun high in the sky as it beat down on the landscape. And for the first time in years, she was free. Her lungs burned as she tried to catch her breath but she did not stop, trying to put as much distance between herself and the stone prison as possible, reveling in the light and the cold just in case this freedom did not last and she found herself imprisoned once more.


	5. Contained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Pet Prompt on Subeta, prompt Contained

Everything in Alina's life had taught her not to do what she was about to do. Her magical powers could be bolstered by blood, but she'd been warned to never use any blood but her own or that of small creatures lest that power overwhelm her, and it was a point of pride Alina had kept to ever since she began practicing the art. But in that moment, faced with the man that had tormented her for years, faced with the possibility of finally having revenge, of killing him and no longer living her life in fear as he tracked her with the intent of returning her to her wrongful imprisonment, she simply broke.

Sharpened claws lashed out and cut deep into his arm as she dodged a swing of his sword, and the effect was nearly instant as Alina reached out to his blood with her magic and then took a step back before he could swing again. Then she simply pulled, and his blood began to draw from the wound she had inflicted upon him. It resisted as he did, taking a staggering step back and placing his hand over the scratches, but Alina pulled harder fueled by rage and pain until his arm nearly exploded with the pressure and the blood rushed from his body to surround her.

Alina poured her magic into that blood and sent it rushing back at him, the force vaporizing him instantly and ensuring his death if the severed limb and blood loss had not already done so. Then she fell to her knees, panting and exhausted, looking up to see only a shadow burned into the nearest wall and the remaining blood sliding down in a slow drip. But now that it was done, now that she had her vengeance, there as nothing left in her. Alina collapsed from exhaustion and felt herself black out, but she let herself fall into that blissful abyss as long as it would take for her body and mind to recover from the ordeal. Things would never be the same, of course, because she had broken her promise and used the blood of another to fuel her magic. The call would be there stronger than ever, and Alina would have a much harder time resisting the urge to do it again and again and again....


End file.
